Mobile home frame



June 15, 1965 H. G. HAMMAR MOBILE HOME FRAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan.4, 1962 June 15, 1965 H. G. HAMMAR MOBILE HOME FRAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Jan. 4, 1962 7 various points in thecoaches.

'ceal the pipes.

United States Patent 3,1$8',694 MOBILE HUME FRAME v Iilerbert G. Hammar,Dallas, Tex., assignor to Redman Industries, Inc, a corporation-ofDelaware Filed Jan. 4, 1962,'Ser.No. 164,342 1 @laim. (Cl. 20-2) Thisinvention relates to mobile home coaches and more particularly to framestructures for mobile home 1 coaches wherein plumbing and heatingconduits are situated below the floor of the coach.

In designs of mobile home coaches heretofore, any

facility requiring drainage, such as a kitchen or bathroom, wasgenerally located near the rear of the coach.

I the distance forward a kitchen or bathroom could be placed in thecoach.

However, new designs in mobile homes make desirable .more flexibility inroom placement in the coaches with i more forward placement of the roomsrequiring drainage facilities. As before indicated, it is not readilypossible for manufacturers to locate drains under the floors in coachesand still maintain a satisfactory pipe pitch from To overcome thisdifficulty, some manufacturers increased the distance between the floorand the frame so as to provide a greater vertical distance in which adrain pipe could be pitched. But such a change raised the floor and inturn necessitated a compensating increase in the overall height of thecoach. This solution of the difficulty, consequently, was not altogethersatisfactory.

As an alternate approach, some manufacturers moved the fixures requiringdrainage to positions along a side 'wall of the coach and routed thedrain pipes above the floor, adjacent the wall.

This solution is likewise unsatisfactory because it necessitatesadditional cost to con- It is sometimes desirable to locate sinks orother fixtures with drains near the center of the coach,

away from the coach wall. Drainage in such locations improved framestructure for trailer and mobile home coaches.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a chassis frame fortrailer and mobile home coaches having space beneath the floor forlocation of pipes, especially affording space for the proper pitch ofplumbing drain pipes.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a chassis framehaving high strength and fulfilling the requirements for readability.

A still further object is to provide a frame structure of the above typewhich can be readily and inexpensively manufactured.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description thereof, when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partially broken away, of a mobilehome embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view, partially broken away andpartially in cross-section, taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken along line 33 of FIGURE2; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

As shown in the drawings, one preferred embodiment of the invention isillustrated as a mobile home 5 including a base frame designated'generally by the numeral 7 and allow 9 between which there lies aregion or cavity 11 adapted for the location of utility conduits, suchas drain pipes 13 and a heating duct 15. The illustrated constructionprovides a region 11 with a sufficiently large vertical dimension thatthe minimal requirements for pitch of the drain pipes 13 may be met evenwhen the fixures requiring drains are spaced relatively long distancesfrom the drain outlets.

More particularly, as best seen in FIGURE 4, the base frame 7 includes asubstructure or skeleton 21 comprising a pair of longitudinallyextending beams 17 connected by cross-members 19, which skeleton 21provides the main load bearing structure of the mobile home 5. Suitablestructural steel units may be used as beams '17. In the preferredembodiment, the beams '17 are 8 inch I-beams which have been found welladapted to this application. The cross-members 19 comprise structuralunits which may have different cross-sections. However, a crossmember 19having a flange which provides a generally flat upper surface ispreferred, for example, a channel or a Z-member. The height of thecross-member 119 must be less than that of the beam 17. In the preferredembodiment, a 4 inch Z-member is used and has proved adequate. Thesubstructure 21 is assembled by fixedly connecting the cross-members 19between the beams 17, as by welding, so that the beams 17 are fixed in agenerally parallel position. It is desired that the cross-members 19 arejoined to the lower vertical portions of the beams 17 in order to obtainmaximum height for the region 11.

The base frame 7 is completed by combining struts or Outriggers 23 andbraces 25 with the substructure 21. The struts or Outriggers 23 serve toextend the width of the substructure 21 by extending outwardly from eachof the beams 17, to which they are fixedly connected, as by welding. Thestruts 23, as shown in the drawings, are triangular sections formed withtop flanges which lie in a generally horizontal plane when the struts 23have been mounted upon the beams 17. Struts 23 of other shapes may beused. The braces 25 serves to strengthen the substructure 21 byreinforcing the connection between the beams 17 and the cross-members19. Each of the braces 25 extends between an upper portion of a beam 17and a point on a cross-member 19 and is secured to both these members,as by welding. Preferably, the braces 25 are of standard bar stock andhave a length less than onehalf the length of the cross-members 19 so asnot to reduce the cross sectional area of the region 11.

To provide a weather-bottom for the structure, sheathing 27 extendingthe length of the coach is suitably attached atop the base frame 7, asbest seen in FIGURE 4. The sheathing 27 is preferably a weather proofcomposition fiber board which will withstand exposure to the weather andprotect the flooring and other elements disposed above it.

Supported by the base frame 7 and resting on the top of the sheathingare stringers 29 which are disposed 1ongitudinally of the coach. Thesestringers 29 are appropriately attached to the base frame 7 through thesheathing 27. In the illustrated embodiment, best seen in FIG- URES 2and 4, six stringers 29 are spaced laterally across the width of thebase frame 7 so that their top surfaces define a horizontal plane.Individual boards are then mounted transversely upon these stringers 29to create a flooring 9 for the coach.

In the embodiment shown, four of the six stringers 29 are 2 x 4, whilethe center two stringers are 2 x 8. The

v 3 two center stringers define the region 11 between the flooring 9 andthe sheathing 27 in whichrthe conduits are housed. The inventionillustrated provides the region 11 with a vertical dimension equal toabout, 7% inches, i.e., the longer dimension of the 2 X 8. Theadditional height herein provided results in significant advantages overprevious constructions in which the base frames '7 aiasesa Theillustrated structure also meets the requirements of strength andreadability necessary'in a mobile home. The welded construction of theframe substructure 21 from 8 inch juniorI-beams and 4'inch'12 gauge Z-mem- "here with 1 /2 inch top and bottom flanges, reinforced by bracesof 1 /2 inch strips of 12 gauge stock, has prowere built with generallyflat top surfaces whereby all the stringers used had the samedimensions.

The region 11 is adapted for housing the'heating duct 15 which isutilized in the coach heating system in combination with floor registers31. The added vertical height of the region'll allows a heating duct15,; of suificient capacity for the requirements of the coach, to bemade With a generally square-cross section. Such a duct, as compared tothe relatively fiat, rectangular duct necesary to'achieve a likecapacity in a region of lesser height, results in a saving in materialcosts because of the reduced peripheral surface possible. Likewise,there will be less total heat lost by transfer through the surfaces. ofthe duct 15 than through the aforementioned' rectangular duct.

The region 11 is especially adapted for housing a drain pipe 13'forpassage of the drain from a fixture, such as a kitchen sink 33, to adrain outlet 35 on'the rear of the coach. Under the approved. standards.set up by the Mobile Homes Manufacturers Association (MHMA), a

mobile home shall have only one drain for fixtures other than the watercloset, and this drain shall, terminate horizontally. These standardsalso specify that the. drain v vided a strong and stable load bearingunit. The struts 23 are located so as to be in alignment with thecrossmembers 19; This assembly of the aligned struts 23 with the framesubstructure'Zl produces a base frame of substantial strength. Aconsiderable saving in cost of material is' also effected bythereductionzin size of the crossmembers 19 from the larger sizespreviously used.

The various features of theinvention which are believed to be new areset forth in the accompanying claim.

What is claimed is: t 6

A chassis frame for trailer and mobile home coaches, which framecomprises a pair of generally parallel struc- -tural beams extendinglengthwise of the coach, a plurality -of structural cross-members of aheight substantially less than the height of said structuralbeams, saidcrossoutlet for mobile homes over twenty-four feet in length shallhorizonally terminate at the rear'of the 'mobile home. These standardsoften make it necessary, as in illustrated mobile home 5 which is aforty-eight foot long coach, to route the drain pipes for considerabledistances. Inasmuch as the MHMA standards require a minimum pitch of /8inch per foot for plumbing drains, it is necessary to have an area witha large enough vertical di-' mension to accommodate the needed pitch.MHMA standards require drain pipe with a minimumof 1 /2 inch diameterfor the accommodation'of from one to three individualfixtures. 'Thus,previous coaches whichrused 2 x 4 for stringers would have only enoughspace available between the floor and frame to drain a fixture ap-'proximately sixteen feet. In the illustrated embodiment of theinvention, 2 x 4 are used as the basic stringers, yet the framestructure provides the region 11 with a greater vertical dimension. Thisregion, under the aforesaid conditions, allows drainage up to a distanceof approximately forty-six feet.

placement of drainage-requiring fixtures anywhere in the illustratedcoach.

Such anarrangement thus' allows 50 members extending between andconnected to lower portions of said beams to provide a base frameskeleton wherein there is provided a longitudinal cavity, utilityconduits disposed in said cavity, a plurality of struts extendingoutwardly from said beams, a plurality of braces extending downwardlyand inwardly from the upper portions of said beams to saidcross-members, a weatherproof sheathing disposed upon and coextensivewith the base frame whereby a weatherproof bottom is formed, ,aplurality. of longitudinalstringers supported by said base frame anddisposed upon said sheathing, said stringers which are-supported uponsaidvcross-members being of a height greater than said stringers whichare supported upon said struts, and a plurality of flooring membersmounted above and supported by said stringers, said flooring membersandsaid sheathing providing a closed cavity therebetween suitablyhousing said conduits.

References (Zited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Ribers 296-28 VJACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM I. MUSHAKE, Examiner

